Glove



(No Model.)

J. H. CLARK. GLOVE.

ANBREW E GRAHAM. PHOTO UTMQWASHIMGTDWDC UNITED STATES PATENT "lEEicE.

JOSEPH ll. CLARK, OF SIDNEY, NEV YORK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 559,679, dated May 5, 1896. Application filed March 3,1896. Serial llo. 531,666. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, JOSEPH H. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sidney, county of Delaware, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gloves, of which J[he following is a specification.

'lhc invention relates to such improvements; and it consists of the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter de scribed, and subsequently claimed.

Reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, and the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the several figures therein.

Figure l of the drawings is a plan view of my improved glove, palm'upward. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the same, taken on the broken line 2 2 in F ig. l.. Fig. 3 is a view of the outer side of the facing. Fig. a is a view of the inner side of the same after the edges of the slitted portion have been folded back.

The increasing popularity of athletic sports has created a demand for a glove having sufficient thickness and strength to protect the hand and be durable, and yet having sulfi-- cient flexibility to permit free movements of the hand.

.d glove made wholly of skin is too heavy, warm, and inelastic for athletic use. A fab ric glove has been adapted for this purpose by removing portions of the palm and fingers of the fabric and substituting therefor similarly-formed pieces of skin. Such a glove cannot be made to lit well on account of the difference in elasticity between the fabric and shin. A further objection to such a glove, as well as to a glove made wholly of shin, is the fact that upon closing the hand the leather at the center of the palm of the glove, instead of conforming to the surface of the hand, will bulge outwardly, and thereby form a bunch of leather in the hollow of the hand that will materially interfere with the grasp of the wearer.

My improved glove is composed of both fabric and skin or leather so combined and constructed that the glove will retain its form, be seltventilating and durable, and will not materially impede the movements of the hand.

Referring to the drawings, A is the body portion of my improved glove, made of silk, cotton, or other fabric and similar in form to the ordinary fabric glove. Secured to the front side of the fabric body along the palm, thumb, and finger portions is a facing B, of skin or leather. The facing may be secured to the fabric body in any known manner, as in part by stitching B', the edges of the skin being` secured in the seams of the fabric body part where practicable. At the center ofthe palm I form in the facing two intersecting slits B2 and fold back the slitted edges upon the diagonal lines B3 upon the under side of the facing, as shown in Fig. il. The skin is secured to the fabric by lines of stitching C along the folded edges. By so cutting, folding, and stitching the facing l remove from the center of the palm a considerable area of the skin or leather at the point where the tendency is greatest to bulge outwardly upon closing the hand, and I am thus able to largely vavoid the stiifness common to leather gloves, while securing the advantage of the leather to protect the hand and resist wear.

The glove will retain its form by reason of the elasticity of the fabric which underlies the facing and the open character of the fabric permits ventilation therethrough, particularly at the center f the palm where exposed by the removal of the facing. By folding back the edges of the facing where the opening is formed therein at the center of the palm and securing the folded edges to the subjacent fabric I am able by means of the folded edges to form a raised wall around the fabric exposed through the opening, which wall protects the fabric within such opening from being worn by contact with external objects.

The leather facing is secured to the fabric body only along the edge seams and at the center of the palm along the edges of the opening. The main portions of the facing are thus separate from the glove-body and form an inter airspace between the leather and fabric. The opening and closing movements of the hand cause the inclosed air to be forced along between the plies, and the connection between the leather and fabric at the center of the palm being only loose stitching the air is permitted to escape from IOC) between the plies out through the palmopening, whereby the glove is ventilated. It is very desirable to have the facing connected to the fabric body at Widely-separated points to provide such an air-space, and also to not interfere with the elasticity of the fabric body; but a facing attached only at the edge seams of the glove is more liable to bulge away from the fabric at the center of the palm upon closing the hand, and it is largely to avoid such a result that I attach to the fabric the facing at the center of the palm.

Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A glove comprisinga glove-body of elas tic fabric, and a facing of skin or leather apertured at the center of the palm and secured on the front of the glovebody by stitching inserted through said facing along its edges and along the edges of the palm-opening, su bstantially as described.

2. A glove comprising a glove-body of fabrie, and a facing of skin or leather secured on the front of the glove-body by stitching inserted through said facing along its edges. said facing being slitted at the center of the palm and the slitted edges being folded nnder and secured, by stitching inserted therethrough, to the glove-body, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 22d day of February; 1896.

JOSEPH Il. CLARK. lVitnesses:

MINNIE MoREHoUsE, GEO. H. LYON. 

